Traverse City Record-Eagle

Archive: Friday

Related Photos

  • Barbara Budros

    CSS9ABB.jpg

  • Jim Carruthers Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

    CSS8DE1.jpg
February 3, 2012

TC leaders offer 'office hours'

Shifts give public 'one-on-one' time with commissioners

By VANESSA McCRAY vmccray@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Pull up a chair.

City commissioners started holding regular "office hours" at the Governmental Center to chat individually with citizens.

Commissioners sign up for the shifts from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, following regular commission meetings on the first and third Mondays of the month. The next scheduled office hours take place Feb. 8 and Feb. 22.

"I signed up for a number of Wednesdays," said Commissioner Barbara Budros. "(It's) somebody they can come in and talk to if they are having an issue in the city that needs to be addressed."

Budros said fellow commissioners "embraced" the office hours concept, on the heels of last summer's proposal by former Mayor Chris Bzdok to hire a neighborhood ombudsman to connect residents with city government.

"(It's) another way for citizens to access us in a more organized way," said Commissioner Jim Carruthers, who manned a January shift.

Three people showed up during Carruthers' session. One was Teresa Woods.

Another person in Woods' office spotted a post on the city's Twitter feed that announced the office hours. The two headed over to talk about the city's vacation rental rules, which impact Woods' businesses Visit Up North Vacation Rentals.

"I thought it was really wonderful," she said of the time set aside to meet with an elected official.

Woods has attended commission meetings, where back-and-forth interaction with individual commissioners isn't possible.

"This is a way for us to actually communicate one-on-one," she said. "I do think it's an important thing to be able to maybe get some communication going on a deeper level."

Not every commissioner may be a frequent participant in the voluntary program. Jeanine Easterday works a full-time job, and so far she hasn't signed up for a shift. That hasn't stopped the newest commissioner from interacting often with constituents. She attends neighborhood association meetings, connects by email — "lots of emails" — and meets with people "who have vested some time researching their issue."

Carruthers chats every morning at his regular coffee shop and welcomes calls at home about city matters.

"I just thought when I was elected part of my job was to answer to the public," he said.

Text Only